Cupcakes and Bookstores
by aphcutienorway
Summary: Human Au, Fruk. Arthur had just taken over his uncle's bookstore, everything was normal, life was normal. Day in and day out, life was the same, monotonous. Life seemed to have not much meaning, but that was before a man came into his life, although they don't always get along, Francis will make Arthur's boring life much more colourful, maybe with his colourful cupcakes.
1. Chapter 1

Arthur smiled as he took another book of the cart, placing it onto the shelf. He worked at a small quaint bookstore at the edge of the town. Tapping his foot slightly to the beat of the music playing from his headphones, he took another book, putting it in its right place on the shelf.

The bookstore originally belonged to his uncle. But he was getting old and found it hard to keep the business running. Having no children of his own, he asked Arthur's mother if Arthur would like to take over running the store. When Arthur heard that from his mother, it was almost a dream come true. Soon, the store was pretty much his.

It was rather simple really, this shop had been around for a long time and had many loyal customers. It was a secondhand bookshop. Customers could sell their old books for some money, depending on the condition of the book and others could come in and buy secondhand books.

As Arthur grabbed another book of the cart, he heard the bell ringing, alerting him to a customer entering. He smiled and paused his music. Taking his headphones off, he turned around "Oh it's just you" he said, smiling at the lady who just walked in.

"Just me?" she replied, chuckling a little. "I thought I was special."

Arthur smiled at her and laughed a little, "Oh Aunt Rue, you know I don't mean it that way."

"I know, I know." she replied smiling fondly at him.

"so what do you need today?" Arthur asked as he walked over to the counter, pulling the cart along to load more books into it. Arthur stopped it right next to the counter and took some more books from behind it, arranging them in alphabetical order on the cart.

"Oh, you know, just here to get another book to read." she replied. She stood there for a while looking at Arthur. "You've really grown a lot, I remember when you were just a little boy! Back then those eyebrows looked even bigger on your small head, it was adorable!"

Arthur pouted a little and blushed faintly "Do you have to bring this up all the time?" he asked.

She laughed at his response and said "I really never thought that you would be running the store one day."

Arthur smiled at her politely and took the last book off the table, placing it onto the cart. "I need to shelf these, just call me when you're done alright?" he told her, pushing the cart and walking towards the books starting with the alphabet A. He picked up the first book and read the title, scanning the shelf, he found where to place the book and pushed it between the space. He then took another book of the cart and did the same. He enjoyed this, the brainless repetitive work allowed him to just enjoy the music and his thoughts.

Soon, he felt a light tap on his shoulder and he turned around, "found a book?" he asked her. She nodded and he started walking towards the counter. He waited for her to join him and took the book from her, scanning the barcode. "five dollars" he said.

He watched as she took her wallet out of her handbag, taking out a note and passing it to him. He took it from her and put it into the cash register, passing her the book. "have a nice day!" he said softly as she took it from him.

As she was walking out of the shop, she suddenly stopped and turned around, laughing softly, she said "Oh Arthur, I almost forgot that I brought some old books here today."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at that. "More books again?" he asked. "you really do have a lot of books don't you?"

She smiled and walked back to the counter, placing a paper bag of books on it. "Have a look" she said "let's see how much their worth."

Arthur took out each book, writing down their prices and then adding them together. "For these eight books I can pay you...thirty-two dollars."

She smiled and nodded. Arthur took the money out passing it to her and put the books behind the counter, "see you soon." he said as she took her wallet out, placing the money in.

As soon as she was done, she walked out of the shop "see you soon Arthur, I'm glad to see that ole Joseph's shop ended up in your hands."

Arthur smiled and continued what he was doing. He hummed along to the music, swaying his hips slightly as he shelved the books. As he did that, he felt a presence somewhere and turned around looking around his shop. There wasn't anyone. He looked around once more, furrowing his eyebrows, but there really just wasn't anyone.

Pursing his lips slightly, he continued what he was doing but was a little on guard. After a while, when nothing happened, Arthur finally relaxed a little. Just as he did that, he felt eyes on his back again. He sighed and turned around, only to notice a man crouching below the display outside his window watching him. He continued on, trying to ignore the eyes on his back, but he felt really uncomfortable knowing that he was being watched.

Finally, he couldn't ignore it anymore. Arthur scowled as he walked over to the door. Pulling his headphones off, he yanked the door open and glared at the man "What is it that you want." he snapped.

To his surprise, the man stood up from where he was crouching below the display and lightly brushed himself off, smiling "Bonjour mon cher." he replied.

Arthur blushed a little, the man was...beautiful… that was the best word he could think of to describe him, really, men weren't usually described as beautiful, but he truly was. After staring at him for a while, he noticed what he was doing and snapped out of it. Blinking, Arthur crinkled his nose in disgust, still blushing slightly "french?" he asked.

When the other nodded he shook his head, trying to clear the fog that still seemed to have invaded his mind and asked "why were you watching me?"

The man looked down and fidgeted with his fingers for a while before looking back up and smirking at him. "I enjoyed the view." he said.

Arthur blushed deeply and sputtered "Shut up you creep!"

The man rolled his eyes and smiled at him. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy."

Arthur scowled at him and growled slightly "I don't care what your name is frog face."

Francis gasped in mock horror and held his chest dramatically "Oh how you wound me mon papillon."

Arthur rolled his eyes and crossed his arms above his chest, still scowling at the other. Francis just laughed at the adorable pout on the Arthur's face. He took a step closer to him and asked "so you work here alone?"

Arthur blushed a little and stepped back away from him. Glowering at him, he asked "what's it to you?"

"Oh, it's nothing" Francis replied slyly.

At that, Arthur glared at him and said "if there's nothing you need, please leave." With that, he gave him one last glare before walking back into the shop, slamming the door behind him. He put the last book on the shelf before turning around to check if Francis was still there. He rolled his eyes as he saw Francis standing outside his shop watching him with a smile on his face. Arthur gritted his teeth and turned around walking towards the counter. He spent the next hour blatantly ignoring Francis while tending to the customers who came in.

His customers of course did ask him who the man standing outside was. In response, he would indignantly reply that it was just "an idiot."

As the time for Arthur to close the shop came, he packed up his things and put on his headphones. He then walked out, locking the door behind him. He really expected Francis to be gone by now, after all, who in their right mind would stand outside a shop to watch him for more than an hour?

As he stood up, ready to walk home, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He jumped slightly and instinctively whirled around, slapping the offender harshly before running off. As he reached the bus stop not too far away, he turned around to see Francis holding his face. Arthur immediately felt a pang of guilt. No matter what an idiot he was, he was a gentleman. and gentleman didn't hit relatively innocent people that most probably didn't mean him any harm. He sighed and rolled his eyes a little and walked back slowly.

As he reached the front of his shop, he stood in front of Francis and took his headphones off. "I'm sorry, you startled me." he said softly, feeling rather guilty as he saw Francis rubbing his red cheek.

Francis shook his head and smiled at him a little, still rubbing his sore cheek. He then winked at Arthur "It's alright mon cher...love is painful after all..."

Arthur scowled and glared at him "Shut up, you bleeding git! And to think i felt sorry for you!" his cheeks were coloured a faint pink. 'Love?" he thought to himself, the man must be insane!

Francis laughed at that and moved his hand from his face to his front pocket to take something out of it. He then stepped towards Arthur and leaned closer, placing his lips right next to his ear and whispering "I hope to see you around soon." and slid the object into his back pocket. Stepping back, he winked at the now heavily blushing Arthur once more before saying "see you" and walking off.

Arthur huffed and stomped off walking in the opposite direction towards his house. All the way home, thoughts ran through his mind, he couldn't get his mind off him really, he didn't understand! The other was positively infuriating! He scowled as he reached his door and pulled the keys out of his bag fumbling with them and finally pushing them through the lock. He then pulled the door open, more harshly than required and went in, slamming the door behind him.

He then walked towards the couch, throwing his bag carelessly onto it before noticing that he had stepped onto his rug with his shoes on. Pursing his lips, he walked back to the door, taking off his shoes. He then walked back to the rug, trying to sweep off some of the dirt that got onto it. Once that was done, he went to the kitchen and washed his hands before making himself a cup of tea. He took out his phone and mindlessly fidgeted with it as he waited for the water to boil. As he heard the kettle whistling, he poured the water into a cup, making some tea. He smiled as he walked back to the living room, cup of tea in hand. No matter how bad his day was, a cup of tea always made things better.

He finished his tea and walked to the kitchen, placing the cup in the sink. As he walked to his bedroom, he thought about the events of the day and sighed, no matter how much he loved his job, he was starting to find life meaningless, day in and out, it was the same boring routine, get up in the morning, shelf books, serve customers, shelf more books, close the shop, go home, rest. He didn't have much friends. Simply, he didn't have much of a life. His life was boring, he was boring, it was monotonous.

As he reached his room, he pulled the door open and stepped in. He walked towards his cupboard and suddenly, Francis's face came to mind. He felt his heart race at the thought of his beautiful bright blue eyes and charming smile. He then frowned and looked down, pushing the thought away. Gathering his clothes, he stepped into the bathroom and placed his clothes on the hanger behind the door.

He then started taking off his clothes. As he took off his jeans, he saw something fall out of one of the pockets. He looked at it curiously before bending down to pick it up. It was a card of sorts. Upon closer inspection, it was a name card, belonging to no other than Francis. The words Francis Bonnefoy were inscribed near the middle of the card in fancy letters. Below his name it read, 'lamour'. Arthur raised an eyebrow at that and looked at the fine print below. 'French patisserie, 37 wallace street' below that, was a number and a handwritten 'call me!' with a heart shape drawn next to it.

Arthur scowled and stomped out of the bathroom, throwing it into the trashcan. He then went back in and slammed the door, locking it although he was alone in the house.

When he was done, he got out and walked towards his table, pulling his laptop out of the charger. He then walked to the bed and sat down, pulling up the screen of the laptop. He surfed the net for a while, music playing in the background, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling at the back of his mind telling him that something was missing.

With a frustrated sigh, he finally stood up and walked out of the room to make himself another cup of tea, trying to clear his mind. As he waited for the water to boil, he suddenly had an intrusive thought about the name card in the trashcan. He frowned and pushed the thought away, but he couldn't help it, the thought refused to leave him. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the kettle whistling. He took it off and poured some water into his cup, making himself a cup of tea. When he was done, he walked up to his room, cup in hand and placed it on his bedside table, continuing his surfing.

The thought refused to leave him, and with a frustrated huff, he opened a new tab and typed in 'l'amour' into the search engine. He groaned slightly as he noticed that that was a really stupid thing to search. Next he typed in 'l'amour patisserie'. He clicked on a few results before noticing that it was a hopeless search, trust the idiot to come up with such an unoriginal name. He sighed and got off the bed walking towards the trashcan. Picking it out, he walked back and went to google maps. He then typed in the address. It came up with the name of his patisserie and Arthur almost beamed at his success.

He clicked on it and saw some pictures. It was a disgustingly sweet looking cafe, with floral cupcakes on display outside and colourful cakes. The exterior of the shop was truly sickening, a glass door with a baby pink notice reading 'open' in cursive letters. The door was framed by a light blue frame that looked like it came out of a child's tea party. Above it was a thin ledge in the same disgusting pastel shade, looking too fancy. By the sides of the door, it seems the displays followed the same, 'ugly pastel barbie doll' theme. He grimaced and read the reviews. Surprisingly, the reviews were pretty good, the food was apparently really good there.

Suddenly, he pushed his laptop screen down. What was he doing? checking up on a guy he just met? And that freak of all people! He groaned and buried his face in his pillow,

"it doesn't mean anything" he told himself. yea he thought the guy was attractive but that doesn't mean anything right?

"but then why are you reading up about him?" he thought, He sighed, it didn't mean anything, he had every right to be curious didn't he?

With that he took his laptop and put it back into it charging port, and walked back to his bed, switching the lights off. He wasn't going to call him or go to the cafe, good reviews or not, definitely not.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur groaned as he heard his phone alarm blaring. He sat up groggily in bed, reaching over to grab his phone, silencing the alarm. He then stood up and stretched. As he walked to the bathroom to freshen up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Sighing, he ran a hand through his messy blonde hair in an attempt to tame it slightly but to no avail. He looked awful, more so than usual. He had massive eye bags, and his face was slightly puffy. He looked sickly, exhausted.

Once he was done, he walked out of the bathroom, walking to his closet and pulling out a shirt and a sweater vest, along with one of his pants. He put them on and grabbed his coat from the coat hanger.

Holding it in one hand, he walked down the stairs and made himself a quick breakfast consisting of cereal with milk.

When that was done, he put on his shoes and his coat and headed for the door, grabbing his headphones and bag on the way out. As soon as he was out of the door, he put on his headphones and played some music. He smiled at the familiar tune and headed for the bookstore.

Upon reaching the store, he unlocked the door and stepped in. At once, the familiar smell of books hit him and he smiled. He walked to the counter and placed his bag down, taking his coat off and folding it neatly. He then sat at the counter and just enjoyed himself, using his computer for a while.

There weren't usually many customers in the morning, and since it was kind of his shop, no one was going to stop him from doing whatever he wanted when the store was empty. He was just writing another story. Outside of his job, Arthur spent quite a lot of his free time writing books. It was his hobby and another source of income.

Arthur stopped and minimised the window when he heard the bell ring. He smiled and looked up, ready to greet the customer. However his smile quickly turned into a scowl when he saw who it was. "It's you." he said with as much venom as he could.

Francis raised his hands in a gesture of surrender as he headed for the counter. As he reached it, he leaned on it and smiled at Arthur "Bonjour~" he greeted "did you see my little gift for you yesterday?"

Arthur looked at him challengingly, "you mean your stupid little card?"

Francis rolled his eyes and tutted "Why do you always have to be so mean to moi? Come on! I know you can smile...I saw you smiling at your customers yesterday…"

Arthur glared at him and snapped "that's because they're my customers and you're not! You're just here to harass me!"

"Harass you?" Francis laughed "I was just trying to talk to you."

Arthur blushed faintly "Well, I don't want to talk to you." he replied.

Francis smirked a little at the blush that had appeared on Arthur's cheeks and leaned forward even more, holding Arthur's face in his hand lightly and staring into his eyes as he whispered "Are you sure about that?"

Arthur's blush deepened and he gulped. Taking a deep breath, he pushed Francis away roughly. "y-yes...just go away." he stuttered.

Francis stumbled slightly and managed to catch himself on one of the bookshelves. "Mon dieu! I almost fell!" he gasped. Standing up straighter, he looked at Arthur once more before coming up with an idea. "well, if I said I was here to buy books, you will have to be nice to moi no?"

Arthur huffed and pouted, "Only if you were really here to buy books."

Francis almost beamed, "well in that case...I will be looking around!" he said before

blowing Arthur a kiss and walking towards a shelf, looking at the books. After a while of looking around, he finally chanced upon one of the books and smirked a little, pulling it off the shelf. He then walked towards one of the shelves nearer the counter and leaned on it, watching as Arthur typed rather angrily at the computer, as if it had personally offended him. He smiled, it was adorable, his face was red and he looked absolutely...murderous.

Arthur sat at the counter, typing out a draft for his next chapter. He didn't trust that fool in his shop and kept peering over the screen, keeping an eye out for him. Well, he couldn't deny that he did indeed enjoy the view… He watched as Francis bent down to look at some of the books on the lower shelves. 'He has a really nice ass' he thought and blushed, looking back at his screen, typing away furiously.

Finally, he peered over the screen again, and noticed that Francis was no longer looking at the books but standing in front of him, leaning on a shelf...watching him...again. He looked absolutely contented with being able to just watch him as if he was such a sight. He scowled and asked Francis in a sweet sarcastic murderous tone "So love, have you chosen anything?"

Francis felt a little afraid for his life at the look he was being given and nodded. He smiled at Arthur as walked up to the counter, placing the book on the counter.

Arthur looked at him suspiciously once more before looking down at the book and blushing furiously, 'damn the bloody frog! what was he thinking!' he thought to himself as he looked up at Francis who was smirking at him.

He looked back at him challengingly and flipped open to the first page with more force than required, scanning the barcode "seven dollars, frog, do you need a bag?" he asked.

Francis shook his head and sent him a wink "non, i intend to use this immediately, right now…"

Arthur rolled his eyes and blushed "well, at least you got rid of that...thing for me"

Francis laughed and looked at the book, "It's a good book really, 101 positions in bed, I believe we will be reading this together soon~"

Arthur glared at him "Get out. Out of my shop. Now."

Francis laughed nervously and walked out of the shop quickly "au revoir!" he said before disappearing away from view.

Arthur huffed and straightened his shirt. Not that it wasn't straight, it was just a habit, something he did when stressed. He muttered under his breath something about the bloody frog and got on with his story.

Soon, another customer came in with a pile of books to sell to him. He took them and calculated their worth, passing them the money. He then placed them in alphabetical order on the cart, and started placing them in their respective places on the shelf. Once he was done, he went back to writing.

As the day ended, he walked home and crashed on the couch. Oh, he was exhausted. Thankfully, it was Sunday, which meant that he didn't have work for the next two days. He smiled to himself as he got up and made himself a cup of tea. Since most people were off on weekends, that's when he would have the most business. Hence, his off days were Monday and Tuesday.

He went to the fridge, taking out some pre-packed food and throwing it into the microwave, waiting for it to heat up. He knew it was really unhealthy for him to eat microwaved food almost everyday, but he couldn't cook to save his life, whenever he did, he would burn his food, or god forbid, his whole kitchen.

When it was ready, he took it out and walked over to the couch, switching on the television and flipping through the channels while he ate his microwaved pasta. He finally decided that there was nothing worthwhile to watch and just decided to watch the news.

Once he was done with his meal, he walked to the kitchen to throw away the package and walked back to the couch to continue watching the television. As the news reporter went on and on about the latest natural disaster, Arthur could feel his eyes growing heavy, the image of the news reporter on the scree grew bleary and his struggled to keep his eyes open.

The next day, he woke up to a bright light shining in his eyes and he groaned. He had fallen asleep on the couch again, in yesterday's clothes, with the television still on. He got up and walked to the bathroom, washing up and showering before changing into something more comfortable.

He then walked to the kitchen sighing as he took the cereal box out of the cupboard. He really was going to have to do something about his awful cooking.

Once that was out of the way, he took out his laptop and continued with his story. Although it was his day off and he was supposed to rest, this didn't feel like work to him. He enjoyed it too much for it to be counted as work.

A few hours later, he felt his eyes starting to get tired from the prolonged computer usage and saved his work, pushing the screen down. He got up, stretched and looked at his watch. It was about two o'clock. He decided to get some lunch and debated on whether he should change into something more proper. After some thought, he decided that changing into some jeans would do. He did just that and grabbed his coat and bag before heading out.

He loitered the streets of the town looking around, trying to find something to eat. As he turned a street, he was faced by a slightly familiar sight. It was even more revolting in real life. The pastel seemed more vivid, and today, there was a cake covered in hearts on the display. He grimaced slightly and peered through the display.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad on the inside. There was a clear glass counter with cakes displayed on them and small tables with comfy chairs. Since lunch hour was over and it wasn't tea time yet, there were only a few occupied tables, some students were studying with a drink and there were a few couples, just enjoying themselves with some small pastries. It really looked more like a cafe than a patisserie.

Suddenly, he saw Francis come out from a door, probably the kitchen and he tried to walk away before Francis saw him.

Too late. Francis beamed and walked towards the door pulling it open. "Bonjour mon cher! So I see, you did come to see me!" he greeted cheerily. Arthur sighed and pretended not to hear him, walking away from the shop.

Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his arm and he scowled turning around "sod off you bloody wanker! I just happened to look in, I don't want to see you!" he said, yanking his arm away from Francis.

Francis pouted and looked down, "Why are you so angry with moi? I just wanted to invite you in for some cakes!"

Arthur shook his head and took a deep breath. He then replied in a calmer tone "I don't need any of your cake. Now, please let go."

Francis smiled, it was really just too adorable "My treat." he said, "just choose whatever you want, it's on me."

Arthur thought for a moment, free food, and according to the reviews the food here was good... and the frog would be too busy handling customers to bother him right?

"fine..." he said. Francis almost squealed and opened the door holding it open for Arthur.

Arthur glanced at him for a moment before stepping in.

As he stepped into the shop, he almost gasped. It smelled amazing. He could smell the freshly baked cakes and coffee. He smiled involuntarily and turned to Francis.

Francis stared at him for a moment, was he... smiling? He smiled back at Arthur.

As soon as he realised what he was doing, Arthur snapped out of it and scowled, "frog, so what's nice here?"

Francis laughed and walked over to the counter, "well, I just made some brownies, and they're rather popular, would you like some?"

Arthur nodded and sat at one of the seats near the corner of the shop. He looked around, it really had a cosy homely feel, everything was cushioned and did he forget to mention? The shop itself smelt delicious.

He sat there watched the people passing by on the pavement outside. He felt himself relax and sighed contentedly. He hadn't relaxed like this in a long time.

"Like my place?" Francis asked and Arthur was jolted out of his thoughts. He nodded and said watching as Francis placed the plate on the table, "The colour scheme is awful, like really, pastels? But it has a really cosy feel and really, how do you make this place smell so good?" He looked at the brownie on the table and smiled, he would never be able to bake anything that well.

Francis took a chair and dragged it to the table, seating himself opposite Arthur.

Arthur sent him a glare. "I didn't say you could join me."

Francis smirked and retorted, "it's my cafe. I can sit wherever I want~"

Arthur sighed and decided to ignore him in favour of cutting a small piece of brownie and placing it in his mouth. "oh." he said as he tasted it. "it's really good"

Francis laughed at that "I almost thought you would say it tasted awful out of spite."

Arthur rolled his eyes and smiled a little, "I'm not that much of an ass, I will give out compliments when they are due."

Francis looked at him gently and replied, "I know."

Arthur continued to eat it slowly, savouring the thick chocolatey taste with a contented smile on his face. Francis could feel his heart racing in his chest. He couldn't believe that his baked goods was able to produce such a spectacle.

As soon as he was done, Arthur looked up, only to notice that Francis was watching him happily. He frowned and sighed "You were watching me again." he stated, not even bothering to phrase it as a question.

Francis blushed faintly at being caught and looked down shyly. "well, I cannot let such beauty go to waste by not appreciating it can I?"

Arthur cheeks turned red and he glared at him "S-shut up."

Francis had to restrain himself from walking over and kissing Arthur. The red on his cheeks only accentuated his piercing green eyes and it was truly stunning.

He then realised that he was staring into Arthur's eyes and turned away. He stood up and asked "Is there anything else you want?"

Arthur wondered what caused the other to stand up and ask that so abruptly but decided not ot question it. He thought for a moment, "do you serve tea?"

Francis nodded and said as he turned around, "It'll be just a minute."

Arthur sighed and watched as Francis walked off. He was sat there, pondering over his story and was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard his phone beep.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it for messages. 'Alfred' it read. He unlocked it and opened the message 'yo iggy! I've been meaning to see this movie, you wanna join me?'

He smiled fondly at that, remembering when they were younger and Alfred would force him to watch horror movies with him and get so terrified that Arthur would have to stay in his room with him.

'is it horror?' he replied.

Francis was just about to be done making the tea when he saw Arthur take out his phone and smile at it, he then saw him type in a response. He suddenly felt incredibly jealous. Who was that? It wasn't fair that Arthur was so happy to be speaking to whoever that was. He then chided himself. He was being ridiculous. He barely knew Arthur. For all he knew, he might already be in a relationship. He sighed and walked over to the table "Mon cher, who is that you are texting?" He asked as he placed the tea pot and teacups on the table.

Arthur jumped slightly, "just my cousin." he replied.

Francis nodded, feeling rather relieved.

Arthur took the pot of tea and poured tea into both cups. Looking up at Francis, he asked "Aren't you going to take a seat?"

Francis laughed and sat down opposite him. "I thought you didn't want me to sit with you"

Arthur shot him a warning glare "You were going to sit here even if I told you not to."

Francis nodded absent-mindedly at that. He was too busy watching him. He smiled softly as he examined Arthur once more. He loved the way his thick eyebrows were almost always slightly furrowed. His green eyes were so pretty and oh, just look at those lips… delicious.

Arthur stared at him, "you're staring again."

Francis looked away, "well, I told you, you are absolutely beautiful, it would be a shame to not appreciate such a view."

Arthur blushed and coughed softly "Shut up."

As picked up the tea cup and took a sip of the tea, his eyes widened slightly "you make really good tea. Earl grey?"

Francis nodded and traced the patterns on the tablecloth lightly with his finger as he tried to think of something to say.

"Mon cher, I just noticed, I don't know your name."

Arthur looked at him for a moment, contemplating whether he should tell him. "I'm not telling you my name" he replied finally.

Francis wasn't at all daunted by that, "well then, I will just have to wait for you to tell me your name. In the mean time… how about... eyebrows?" he smirked faintly at the way Arthur's face turned red at this.

"You will NOT call me eyebrows." Arthur gritted out.

"Ohonhonhon! I think I shall~" Francis replied, smirking, "it suits you, I mean just look at those eyebrows!"

Arthur scowled deeply and hit Francis on the head.

Francis yelped and rubbed his head, "H-hey! That was too much!"

Arthur looked down stubbornly, "I hate it when people make fun of my eyebrows. I already know their big and hideous, I don't need you to rub it in"

Francis observed him for a moment. For the first time, Arthur actually looked genuinely upset and a little insecure. "Look at me" he told Arthur.

Arthur shook his head, refusing to look up. "Please mon cher." He said more gently and waited. When Arthur finally looked up, he met his eyes and said sincerely "Your eyebrows are big, that I will not deny, but it just adds to your charm. It really suits you. I'm being truthful here. You're really good looking."

Arthur's breath hitched in his throat and he blushed deeply, Francis looked like he truly meant that but… It couldn't be true could it? Someone as perfect as him could never think Arthur of all people to be 'good looking' and really, he liked his eyebrows?

"thanks frog." he finally muttered softly, cheeks still slightly pink. Arthur had always prided himself in being rather eloquent and always knowing what to say, but for the first time, he was just at a loss for words. He took another sip of his tea awkwardly and took out his phone, fiddling with it.

Francis watched happily at the reaction he got out of Arthur, bashfulness was truly endearing on him. He sighed softly and sipped at his tea, watching him again. Those eyebrows were furrowed again as he fiddled with his phone and his hair, goodness, it was a catastrophe. It was a mess, really, it looked like he hadn't combed it in years, but it just looked so adorable on him, gosh, does green eyes were so pretty...

Arthur looked up at him and shot him a withering glare, "Stop it." he said.

Francis smiled at that "I can't, every time I look away, I feel my eyes automatically getting drawn back to your beautiful face."

Arthur blushed once more looking down, "Quit repeating. Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, Bonnefoy. Especially not in my pants."

Francis was about to come up with a response to that when he heard the bell at the counter ringing. He stood up and sent one last wink to Arthur "I'll be right back"

Arthur rolled his eyes and watched his back as he walked off. Francis was such an imbecile really, but... he was really sweet too. He wouldn't admit it but he loved the way Francis looked at him. It made him feel so special, as if he was something to be treasured. No one had ever really cared for him before. It felt rather nice. He sighed and shook his head clearing them of those thoughts and started to mindlessly watch Francis move around, attending to his customers.

He finished his cup of tea and poured himself another cup, watching as Francis handed the customer her food and drinks and started walking back to his table.

"miss me yet?" Francis asked as he sat down across from Arthur.

Arthur snorted "hardly."

Francis laughed at that and Arthur sat in silence for a second before laughing too. Maybe, just maybe being around Francis wasn't that bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, alright, I know everyone hates Author's notes and all but, can you guys do me a favour? If there's anything at all that sucks about my writing, please tell me, just criticise me all you want, I won't take it personally. It might be anything even small and trivial, really, I just want to improve and feedback would be great. Also, I apologise if some parts of this might be a little depressing, I have been in a rather bad state recently and my emotions tend to get reflected into my work, not just writing, even in my songs! If its too much, please tell me alright? Thanks!**

 **-Epiphany**

Arthur walked home, feeling rather happy for once. He felt awfully stuffed and almost regretted eating all that cake. Well almost was the key word. Right after he had his tea, Francis insisted on him trying his other cakes and he couldn't bring himself to protest much after the brownie, all his cakes were just amazing. He smiled fondly as he remembered Francis literally snatching his phone from him and placing his number in it. He acted as if he was irritated but it really was rather endearing.

Once he got his phone back, it seemed as if Francis had saved his own number as "sex on legs". He had scowled at Francis and indignantly changed the contact name to "frog" in front of him. No, wait, Arthur frowned, why was he thinking about him? He pursed his lips and tried to think about something else.

As he reached his house, he hastily unlocked the door and stepped in, locking the door behind him and taking his shoes off. He smiled as he walked back to the table. It was time to continue with his work. He pulled up the laptop screen and read the last bit of his work, trying to remember where he left off.

He then started typing and typing, words appearing on his screen. He was finally pulled out of his work by his phone ringing. Arthur sighed as he completed his sentence before glancing at the screen. It was just his alarm set to remind him to have dinner. Arthur had a habit of getting too into his work, neglecting his meals, so he made it a thing to set alarms to remind himself to eat. He stood up and stretched, walking over to the fridge to get his next microwavable meal. Once the microwave beeped, he opened it and took the food out, he poured himself a glass of water and went over to his table. He placed the plate and his glass of water on the table and sat down.

As he started eating, he looked up at the empty chairs around the table and sighed, remembering just how alone he was. He refused to admit it, but he was really just awfully lonely. The house felt too big and empty for him to live in it alone. He remembered when his house used to be much livelier. But that was when his parents were still around. His parents loved to entertain guests and during his teenage years, he used to loathe having guests over, but now, he just couldn't help but find that his house was just too empty and quiet.

He stared blankly at the wall as it finally hit him, all the loneliness and sadness. He was just so alone wasn't he? No one cared. He didn't have any friends, no one like grouchy sullen Arthur. He just sat there and let the feelings overwhelm him and smiled mirthlessly as silent tears slid down his cheeks. He just sat there and let himself feel for a while before wiping off his tears and forcing himself to eat.

Once he was done, he walked over to his kitchen slowly and threw away the food package and washed the rest of his cutleries and his cup.

He then walked to his bedroom slowly, grabbing his laptop on the way there. He trudged up the stairs lifelessly, everything seemingly blending into each other as the emptiness overwhelmed him. He really hated this, each time he allowed himself to feel this happened, he would feel empty, dead inside after. It was a painful emptiness, one that brought tears to his eyes for no good reason.

As he pushed his door open, he dumped his laptop on his desk, not even bothering to charge it. He then flopped onto his bed and sat there staring at the wall as tears filled his eyes. He sniffled a little, trying to keep it in. 'This is just so stupid' he told himself, but he couldn't help it, everything was just so painful.

He always felt so guilty when this happened, he had a rather good life, he had enough money, a nice place to stay a job that he enjoyed. But he just had to be a wimp and cry over nothing. He couldn't explain the sudden sadness that would overwhelm him and the painful numbness that would come right after.

Finally, the tears stopped and he stared listlessly at the wall, wondering what exactly was wrong. He sighed heavily and laid down in bed, trying to get to sleep. He felt exhausted, and knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything else done.

As he pulled the blanket over himself, he felt tears filling his eyes again. He sighed, "not again" he thought to himself as he started sobbing once more.

The next morning, Arthur woke up and yawned, blinking his bleary eyes open. He felt a strange heaviness settling into his chest and frowned a little. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was already past lunch time. He furrowed his brows, and wondered why he woke up so late, he was usually a naturally early riser.

Suddenly everything came rushing back to him and he pulled the blanket over his head, not wanting to get out of bed. He touched his face lightly with his fingers, feeling his sticky cheeks. He had cried himself to sleep again, after spending hours awake, unable to sleep.

Arthur knew he had to get up but just couldn't find the energy to do so. He laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, he felt dead, unable to even find enough energy to get out of bed. He couldn't find it in him to face the day before him, or what was left of it. Thoughts raced through his mind 'I wish I could just disappear' The sadness ate at him from the inside and he there felt like there was nothing he could do about it.

At around four in the afternoon, Arthur finally managed to drag himself out of bed. He stumbled into the shower and ran his body under cold water. 'At least I can feel the cold, even if I feel nothing else' he thought to himself rather bitterly. He then brushed his teeth sluggishly. Spitting the toothpaste out, Arthur rinsed his mouth a few times before looking up at the mirror. There were trails down his cheeks from where his tears ran freely the night before and his eyes were red and puffy.

He sighed and splashed some cold water on his face. He looked at himself again, still a mess. Pursing his lips, Arthur decided that it didn't matter and he walked out of the bathroom. He walked down to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea. He then sat down and sipped at it slowly.

He went about his house pacing the halls sluggishly for a while before going to his room. He took out his laptop and tried to get some work done, but as much as he loved writing, nothing came out, he couldn't even get a single word out.

He sighed and pushed the laptop screen down. As he stood up, he heard his phone beeping again, dinner time. No matter how bad of a mood he was in, Arthur wasn't one to neglect basic nutrition and hygiene. He considered microwaving some more food but decided against it. Some fresh air might do him good. He changed into something a little nicer and stepped out of his door. He loitered the streets for a while and soon ended up in front of a small cafe.

He pulled the door open and the bell chimed. As soon as he stepped in, a waiter walked up to him and asked him "table for?"

Arthur frowned a little at that and looked down "Table for one"

The man nodded in response and directed him to a table by the side of the cafe, facing the street. Arthur sat down and looked at the menu. Nothing seemed appetising to him and he decided to just randomly pick something. He called the waiter over and placed his order.

Once that was done, Arthur looked out of the window and sighed. He watched as people walked up and down the sidewalk. He didn't understand how these people could be so...happy.

His food was placed on his table and he thanked the waiter. Arthur glanced at his food for a moment before picking up his fork and putting some food into his mouth. He chewed it mechanically and swallowed. He looked at the plate of food before him and pushed his food around for a minute before placing some more of it into his mouth. He could tell that the food was good, but he was just unable to enjoy it. He continued pushing it around and managed to finish half of it by the time he stepped out of the cafe.

Arthur wandered around for a while, not wanting to go back to that empty lonely house just yet. He loitered past some closed shops and a few that were open. Soon, he came across a small pub and decided to just go in to get himself a drink. He walked in slowly and walked up to the bar.

As soon as he sat on one of the seats, the bartender glanced at him "just a moment sir" he said and Arthur nodded.

"So what would you like today?" he asked Arthur.

"Just a cup of rum." he replied, swinging his feet back and forth. The bartender nodded and went to pour him a cup.

Arthur suddenly stopped moving, he was just such a hypocrite wasn't he? He always reprimanded Alfred for fidgeting and shaking his legs and yet he was doing that now? He sighed and looked down at the table, self deprecating thoughts running through his mind.

As the bartender walked over and placed his drink on the table, he looked up and smiled wearily at him "thanks" he muttered.

The bartender nodded "not a problem" before walking off to serve another customer.

Arthur picked up the drink and sipped at it slowly before downing it all. He then called the bartender "another one." The bartender soon came back with another cup, placing it on the table before him.

With his low alcohol tolerance, it wasn't long before he was beyond drunk.

"But...But then, I don't know if I'm catholic or protestant!" he wailed, sobbing into the sleeves of his shirt as he laid on his arm on the table "And then the bloody git left me and...and...I-I'll just have to scold that bleeding git!"

He took out his phone and went to his contacts list, scrolling through it, not really thinking very clearly at that point.

Francis was just leaving the shop when his phone rang, he took it out and stared at the unfamiliar number on the screen. Sighing, he picked up the phone, wondering who would call him at this hour. "Bonjour" he greeted "This is Francis speaking."

Arthur scowled at the voice on the other end of the line, not really able to remember why he was even on the phone anymore "Frog." he slurred "Why the fuck am I talking to you?"

Francis perked up slightly at the sound of his voice then laughed, "You called me mon cher."

Arthur tilted his head slightly in confusion "N-no. I didn't call you" he stuttered as his head dipped forward onto the table.

Francis heard the sound of something hitting a hard surface and immediately grew concerned. "Mon cher, are you alright?"

Arthur giggled at that "I'm fiiinee. And You're funny."

Francis groaned as he heard Arthur giggling, the grumpy Arthur, giggling. The other was probably drunk off his ass.

"Another." Arthur told the bartender. The bartender pursed his lips and shook his head "I think you have had enough."

"I want more." Arthur whined as he laid his head down on the bar once more. Francis rolled his eyes from the other end of the phone at that.

The bartender would have found it funny if he didn't face such drunkenness every other day. He slowly pried Arthur's phone out of his grip as Arthur whined.

He placed the phone on his ear and asked "Hello? Do you know him?"

A more sober voice came onto the line as Francis replied "Oui" nodding although the other couldn't see him.

The bartender sighed in relief and said "I'm sorry about this, but he's causing quite a disturbance here, could you pick him up?"

Francis rolled his eyes at that "Oui, where is he?"

The bartender gave him the address of the pub and then glanced at the drunk man before him. He was now talking to the air and swatting at it while giggling. And did he just hear him say "flying mint bunny?" he shook his head, probably not.

Soon Francis stepped into the bar and curled his lip slightly, he himself would personally never be seen in a pub like this, he would be for something...classier. He walked slowly to the bar and spotted the familiar mess of blonde hair. Tapping Arthur's shoulder lightly he said "Mon cher, lets get you home."

Arthur turned around and looked at Francis "Another."

"Another?" Francis asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yea, another drink." Arthur replied.

Francis rolled his eyes ignoring him and called the bartender, passing him some money before hauling Arthur out. Surprisingly, Arthur didn't protest much to being dragged out of the pub, in fact he seemed rather happy. Francis pulled him towards a bench by the side of the street and started rummaging through Arthur's pockets. He managed to find his wallet, phone and his key. Pocketing the key, he then opened Arthur's wallet, looking for something that might have his address on it. He finally found his Identity Card. He smiled triumphantly for a moment, forgetting the current situation "so that's his name, Arthur, Arthur Kirkland." he muttered to himself softly. He thought it was a really nice name. He smiled at Arthur and pulled him up, "Come on Arthur, lets get going."

Francis somehow managed to pull Arthur towards the car and into the passenger seat. After he pushed Arthur into the passenger seat and he closed the passenger door and walked over to the driver's seat. He got in and started the engine. Just as he was about to drive off, he heard Arthur mutter something. He glanced at Arthur for a moment before deciding to ignore it. It happened again and this time, Francis believed he heard him right. His heart broke at the sad way Arthur said it, "You won't leave me too right?"

Francis shook his head "Non, mon cher, never."

Arthur seemed satisfied with that answer and smiled happily, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

Francis looked at him and smiled fondly, Arthur really did look good when he smiled. He typed in Arthur's address into his GPS and followed the directions to his house.

When they reached Francis wearily stepped out of the car and walked up to Arthur's door, unlocking it. He then went over to the passenger seat to wake Arthur up. He reached out to shake Arthur's shoulder but pulled his hand back. He looked very peaceful when asleep and it would be a shame to wake him up. He picked Arthur up bridal style and pushed the car door close with his leg. He then walked into the house, Arthur in his arms.

As he stepped into the house, he looked around and guessed that Arthur's room should be upstairs. Carrying him up, he couldn't help but stare at Arthur, his brows were slightly furrowed in his sleep and it was just adorable. Arthur was even more beautiful up close and he loved the way he could feel Arthur pressed up against him, even if it wasn't anything sexual. The only thing ruining this was the fact that he reeked of alcohol. He sighed wistfully as he pushed the door open and laid Arthur on his bed, removing his shoes and his coat before pulling the blanket over him.

Just as he walked out, he looked at Arthur one last time and muttered "Sweet dreams" before closing the door of his room.

Francis walked down the stairs and decided to spend the night, it was late and he was tired and not in the mood to drive home. As long as he left before Arthur woke up it'll be alright...right? With that thought in mind, he set an alarm to wake him up early and went to sleep on the couch.

The next morning, Francis was jolted awake by his phone ringing and stood up quickly, he walked around for a while before finding the bathroom and freshened himself up a little. He then walked up to Arthur's room to check on him.

He pushed the door open slowly, careful to not make a sound and peeped in. Arthur laid on the bed, sound asleep. He carefully closed the door and walked back to the kitchen, deciding to cook some breakfast.

As he reached the kitchen, he started going through Arthur's cupboards and his fridge, trying to see what he had. He opened the cupboards first and was horrified by the amount of canned food. He then opened the fridge and was greeted by the sight of packs and packs of microwavable food. He sighed and thought to himself, 'how does he live like this? Is this all he eats?' As he continued his search and managed to find a leftover packet of flour, some butter and eggs and all the other things he could use to make pancakes.

He smiled, feeling as if he had accomplished a great feat in finding these ingredients amongst canned and microwavable food. He took out some bowls and started mixing the ingredients. He then poured the batter into a pan he had found earlier and started frying them. Once he was done, he stacked some pancakes onto a plate and searched through Arthur's cupboards for medicine. He smiled as he found the aspirin and got a glass of water, walking up to Arthur's room with the medicine, water and pancakes. He walked over to Arthur's desk and found a post it note with a few points that seemed like points from a story and raised an eyebrow, taking another note and writing on it.

'hey Arthur, hope your hangover isn't too bad, I have placed some Aspirin and water on your bedside table and the pancakes are on your desk. If you wake up too late and the pancakes are cold, I saw that you have a microwave, just heat them up. Hope to see you around some time soon.

-Francis'

With that he smiled and walked out of the room and down the stairs, grabbing his things and driving home.


	4. NOTE

**Hey guys, I know this is a shitty excuse for not updating for a long time but I just moved out of the country slightly more than a week ago and everything's a mess. Buying the furniture cleaning the house and all that fun stuff. I don't think I'll be updating for a while. I'm so sorry, I will try to update asap, but its just such a hard time now with my parents taking out their stress on me and forcing me to do everything. Oh gosh, I'm rambling again, so sorry. See you guys next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Thanks so much for being so understanding! I was so glad to see all the reviews from you guys, it was so sweet and really made my day. Here's the next chapter, hope you guys like it!

For the messages

 **the messages in bold are sent by Arthur** and

 _the messages in italics are sent by Francis.  
_

Cheers! here's the next chapter.  


Arthur woke up feeling worse than he had ever felt in a long time. He had an awful headache, his head was pounding and he felt incredibly nauseous. As he sat up, he groaned and blinked his bleary eyes open slowly. Suddenly, he felt his stomach lurch and his eyes shot open. He quickly got of his bed and dashed to the bathroom, throwing up the contents of his stomach. Tears filled his eyes as he felt the acid burn his insides.

When Arthur was done, he shakily stood up and washed the remnants of his vomit off his mouth. He then grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth as hard as he could, trying to rid his mouth of the godawful taste. Once he was done, he spat the toothpaste out and rinsed his mouth. He then splashed some cold water on his face before walking out, planning to get some aspirin to help with his bloody migraine. He stumbled out of the bathroom in a none too graceful way and headed for the room door. As he passed his table however, he saw a plate of pancakes. He frowned and walked over to it.

Next to the plate was a note. It was written in pretty cursive handwriting. Arthur took a moment to appreciate how impeccable the handwriting was. 'Was it really handwritten?' he thought, 'maybe its printed.' He picked up the note and inspected it closely, nope it was definitely handwritten. He squinted at the words, migraine making it hard for him to read.

'Hey Arthur, hope your hangover isn't too bad, I have placed some Aspirin and water on your bedside table and the pancakes are on your desk.'

Arthur looked at the pancakes with and raised an eyebrow before turning around and looking at his bedside table. Sure enough, a glass of water and the medicine on one of his saucers was placed there.

'If you wake up too late and the pancakes are cold, I saw that you have a microwave, just heat them up. Hope to see you around some time soon.

-Francis'

Arthur didn't know whether he should be upset about the fact that Francis was in his home and saw him intoxicated or find the gesture incredibly sweet. As a sharp pain ran through his head, he decided not to think too much about it and walked over to his bedside table, placing the pills in his mouth and washing them down with a big gulp of water. He then walked over to his desk and picked up the plate of food, walking down the stairs slowly.

The food was indeed cold and Arthur sighed as he put it into the microwave, waiting for it to heat up. Once it was done, he took it out and placed it on the table. Pouring himself a glass of water, he sat down and started digging in.

Despite the fact that it was a little stale from the hours it had been left there, it was still one of the best breakfasts he had in a long time. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was already around eleven thirty in the morning. He sighed, it seems he wouldn't be opening the shop that day.

By the time he was done with his meal, he felt his headache ebbing away and cleared the dishes. He then walked back up to his room to try to get some work done. As Arthur sat down at the desk, he looked at the note from earlier and sighed, peeling it off the desk surface and slowly walking over to the trash to throw it away. He hesitated for a moment and looked at the note again. Frowning, he let out a sigh and crushed it, throwing it carelessly into the trash. He then turned around and walked back to his seat.

Pulling the chair out, he took a seat and started typing away at the computer. As he wrote, Arthur couldn't help but think about that little note Francis wrote him. He felt an urge to go pick it up, but that was just foolish wasn't it? He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he was just being silly. There really was nothing special about that note. He tried to ignore the thought and forced himself to concentrate on his work.

He managed to write about a paragraph before noticing he wasn't getting anywhere. His writing seemed forced and just flat out...bad... He selected the whole paragraph, deleting it before standing up and walking over to the trash can. He pursed his lips and frowned, pausing for a moment as he bent down to pick the note out of the trash. He finally stood up and walked back to his desk, note now in hand.

As he sat down, he flattened out the note on his desk and inspected it once more. There was nothing special about it really, other the amazing penmanship. Why couldn't he just fucking throw it? He reread the note again. And again. It was just a courteous greeting, some instructions and signed off 'Francis'.

He slammed his head on the table and decided to just pin it up on his board, he wasn't the best at sorting out his emotions after all. He'll think about it later, as for now, he decided that he was just going to work.

Arthur got back to work and was totally immersed in it until his alarm pulled him out of his work once more. He finished his sentence, saving his work and pushing the laptop screen shut. He then stood up and walked down to his kitchen to throw another microwavable packet into the microwave.

As he waited for the microwave to beep, a thought crossed his mind. No matter what an idiot the frog was, he was a gentleman, and a gentleman needed to thank those who helped him. After all, that was just basic manners.

He pulled out his mobile and scrolled through his contacts to the letter "F". Arthur smiled a little at the contact name "frog" and clicked on the message icon. He thought for a moment, should he be nice at least this once? As he thought about it, he felt his stomach knotting up and his heart pounding in his chest. Why was he so nervous? It didn't make sense. He finally typed out a message shakily before deleting it. He typed another message and was about to send it before he decided to delete it again.

Arthur frowned at the phone, this was utterly ridiculous. This was the fourth time he was retyping the message and he didn't like it. He thought for a moment before typing again, this was it, no matter how awkward he sounded, he was going to send it this time.

' **Thanks for helping me out last night, although, up till now, I still have no memories as to how you ended up being the one helping me home. Oh, and thanks for the pancakes and the medicine. Considering the fact that some of the things in my kitchen are out of place, I would assume that you went through my things. On any other occasion, please do know that you would NOT get away with doing that, but considering the circumstances, I will excuse you this once.** '

Arthur looked through it once more, deeming it good enough.

' **Your pancakes were rather decent and...'**

Arthur blushed as he typed this, he considered deleting that part, but went on. **'I really hate to inflate your ego but, you have really nice penmanship.'**

' **BUT** ' he typed in bold to emphasize, ' **you're still an idiotic frog.** '

He read it through another time and nodded, deeming it good enough. He finally pressed the send button and held his breath as he waited for a reply. After a minute, when no reply came he shook his head and almost laughed at himself. How silly of him to get nervous over something as simple as sending a text message.

He placed the phone back in his pocket and looked at the microwave. How did he not notice it beeping? He sighed wearily as he took the food out, shutting the door and walking to his table. He placed the food on the table and started cutting pieces of it, placing it mechanically into his mouth, not really tasting it. He had long since gotten sick of how microwavable packed food tasted, but there really wasn't much he could do about it.

* * *

Francis was just making another coffee for the lady sitting at the corner table when his phone beeped. He finished making the coffee and then walked over to the table. Placing the coffee on the table, he smiled at the lady. He then reached into his pocket and read the text. He had to hold in a laugh at the message, it was just so... Arthur. Smiling to himself, he walked back to the counter and typed out a reply, sending it.

* * *

Once Arthur was done, he walked over to the kitchen, placing the packet into the trash. He then walked up to his room and opened the document, ready to continue working on his story before finally noticing how tired he truly was. He closed the document and clicked on the internet icon and started surfing the net. He decided that today, he would just relax. He really needed a break, after all, no matter how much he enjoyed his job, he was still working two jobs, kind of, writing took up all his free time.

Suddenly, his phone beeped. Frowning, he took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, the notification on his screen showed that he had a message.

It read 'Frog' at the top and the first line of the message was seen below.

' _Mon cher, I didn't think you would even bother with a thank you..._ '

Arthur scowled at that, he was many things, but lacking in manners wasn't one of them! He unlocked his phone and read the rest of it.

' _… In fact, since you are truly such a grouch, I expected more of a 'bloody frog! You went to my home?! I would like you to compensate by giving me a hundred cakes!' or something equally ridiculous. Alas, it seems you aren't that much of an ass. The pancakes and medicine weren't a problem at all. Yes, I had to go through the things in your cupboard to be able to find the ingredients to cook, and honestly it was quite a daunting task, trying to find something proper, I mean, its ridiculous, what do you eat? Microwavable and canned food all the time? My pancakes, merely decent? Coming from you, I truly wonder if that is an insult or a compliment?_

 _P.s. I still don't get why I am a frog?_ '

Arthur rolled his eyes, not even sure if he should bother to dignify such idiocy with a response. In the end, he sent,

* * *

 **'I am rather insulted at your implication of me being bad mannered. Contrary to your beliefs, I am not an 'ass'.**

 **If you found it hard to find the ingredients required to make pancakes, you must be quite an idiot. I only have a few cupboards. But then again, I shouldn't expect too much in terms of intelligence from a creature like you.**

 **What I eat is none of your concern. Your pancakes were decent, it was neither an insult nor a compliment, I was just stating the facts. As to why you are a frog, I really don't know how to answer that, its like asking me why fire is hot, it just is.'**

* * *

 _'Oh mon cher, how you wound me! I would like you to know that I am in fact, not stupid, you're just disorganised, I mean, why is your packet of flour in a cupboard full of cans and your baking powder in the fridge?_

 _Were you really insulted? If you really hated me as much as you claimed to, you wouldn't care what I thought of you, would you?_

 _Oh, and you really should start eating proper food.'_

* * *

 **'what are you? My mother? My father? Who are you to tell me what I should and should not eat? My eating habits are truly none of your concern as I stated in the previous message. I am not disorganised.**

 **Since hate is such a strong word, I wouldn't say I hate you, I just strongly dislike you.'**

* * *

 _'I literally had to hold in my laughter when I read the first line. Non, I am neither your Father nor your Mother. But I would like to think of myself as a concerned friend, and as your friend, your health and eating habits are of my concern._

 _Aww, I think its really great that we have progressed from 'hate' to 'strongly dislike', maybe one day it'll be 'love'? Oh, and by the way, you didn't answer my question about why you cared what I thought of you.'_

* * *

 **'Firstly, you are NOT my friend. Secondly, 'love'? The mere thought of your name and the word 'love' in the same sentence sickens me, unless its 'My feelings towards Francis are the opposite of love'. I do not care about what YOU specifically think of me. But I generally care about not being seen as an ass. I am a gentleman after all.'**

* * *

 _'HAHAHA! You, a gentleman?! Arthur dear, you are definitely NOT a gentleman. You are foul mouthed and seriously, a gentleman wouldn't go around calling people 'frogs' and 'idiots' would they?_

 _Am I really that sickening to you? Not to worry, I'm pretty sure that opinion would change one day.'_

* * *

 **'I hate you'**

* * *

 _'I thought you said you didn't?'_

* * *

 **'I take back what I said earlier. I do hate you. Oh, and by the way, I would never love you. That's just disgusting.'**

* * *

Just like that, they spent the rest of the day sending messages between them. Francis replying in between serving his customers. Arthur would never admit it, but he waited in anticipation for every reply. He enjoyed their strange, witty, form of bickering? Was that what it was? It was quite refreshing, talking to someone in a way that wasn't polite.

* * *

 _'Whatever you say mon cher, its around dinner time now. Would you like to join me?'_

* * *

 **'Are you really that thick skinned? I just told you that I hated you and here you are asking me to join you for a meal?'  
**

* * *

 _'Oui, I know its not true. I closed the shop early today.'_

* * *

 **'I don't really care honestly.'**

* * *

 _'Please?'_

* * *

 **'Why should I? If you can name me three good reasons why I should go out with you, then perhaps, I may consider.'**

* * *

 _'Alright, three reasons?'_

Francis thought for a moment before replying.

 _'1. Good food (Don't argue with me about 'how do I know its going to be good, no matter what, its going to be better than your microwaved food at least)'_

 _2\. I'll pay, so its a free meal for you, and who doesn't love a free meal?_

 _3\. You get to spend time with moi ;)_

 _good enough?'_

* * *

 **'The first two make for a rather tempting offer to be honest, but the last reason was just a good reminder of why I wouldn't want to go.'**

* * *

 _'Oh come on mon cher! Alright, alright, um... for the third reason, I'll give you a few of my cakes for free?'_

* * *

Arthur stopped for a moment at that, the cakes were seriously really good. It was a tempting offer really. Finally, he replied,

 **'Where do I meet you?'**

* * *

 _'I'm outside your house mon cher. :)'_

* * *

Arthur's eyes widened as he got up and looked out of the window. He cursed as Francis waved at him out of his car window. **'What the bloody hell are you doing outside my home? What if I hadn't said yes? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter, just give me a while to get ready, the door's unlocked, let yourself in if you want. Do NOT come to my room.'**

* * *

 _'I knew you would say yes.'  
_

* * *

Arthur read the message and decided not to reply. He quickly went to his room and threw on a sweater and a pair of skinny jeans. He grabbed his bag, throwing his phone, wallet and headphones in and went downstairs. Looking around, he noticed that Francis didn't come in. He shrugged and quickly put on his shoes. He walked towards Francis's car and threw the door open, seating himself in the passenger seat.

"so, where will be going frog?" he asked as he got in.

Francis turned to watch as Arthur stepped out of the door, locking the door behind him. He did look good in that cute sweater. It was just a plain dark red cable knit sweater, but it hung loosely on his thin frame, he looked a little like he was drowning in it, it was adorable! And those skinny jeans, mon dieu! Was Arthur trying to kill him? He smiled at Arthur as he got into his car and answered "It's a surprise."

Arthur pursed his lips, looking away. "You better not be bringing me to some weird place to try to rape me or something you pervert."

Francis laughed a little at that and smiled softly at him despite the fact that Arthur was stubbornly looking out of the window. "Non, you will like it. I promise. If I wanted to rape you, I think I could have done so easily last night."

Arthur turned to look at him defiantly, "... whatever, and what if I don't like it?"

Francis rolled his eyes, "You will like it."

"But if it don't?"

Francis thought for a moment, "The only thing I can think to offer you now is more cake. It seems to be the only thing you like when it comes to me."

Arthur looked at him, thinking for a moment, "How about that and you leave me alone from now on?"

Francis felt slightly wounded at that, "Is that really what you want?"

Arthur looked down at his fingers as his fidgeted with them, was that really what he wanted? In the end he didn't respond, instead choosing to spend the rest of the trip in silence. He watched as the houses passed them by and watched as the street lights shining in through the windows formed patterns on his hands. He thought about what Francis had asked, did he really not want to see him anymore? Deep down, he knew that it wasn't true, he didn't hate the other, but how was he to admit that?

Francis stole glances at Arthur as he drove, he seemed slightly lost in thought as he looked out the window. The street lights seemed to cast an angelic glow around him. He could see his long golden eyelashes glittering in the slightly yellow light and those eyes! He felt as if those beautiful green eyes had the ability to pierce right through his soul when looking at him but now as he watched Arthur looking out, his eyes seemed softer, gentler. He sighed softly, he really was just so beautiful.

Francis saw the shop coming up ahead them and slowed down, parking the car.

"We're here" he said softly. At that, Arthur finally turned to face him, nodding before getting out of the car. Francis got out too and locked the car doors behind him. He walked over to Arthur and grabbed his hand pulling him along gently. He felt Arthur stiffen up slightly as he did so, but was surprised at the lack of protest. As he pushed the door open, he heard Arthur gasp and he smiled softly, "Like it?"

Arthur nodded and smiled a genuine smile, and at that moment, Francis's breath caught in his throat. He wanted to see that smile more often. He then decided that that was his new mission, to get as many real smiles as he could from Arthur.


	6. what now?

**NOTE:** I am aware that this is a rather old work of mine, and i haven't written more past the fourth chapter for over a year despite promises to do so. This sounds like a terrible excuse (I'm just explaining **my situation** to those who might care to read),

 **but over the past year, I had struggled massively with my university foundation year, seeing as i started foundation after year 10, I am essentially skipping grades and had a lot of work. Also, my mental health had gotten much worse over the past year, with me having breakdowns at the simple thought of having to say, study for my chemistry paper. I had also gotten to a point where I struggle with communication with most people, as anxiety gets the better of me. However, my exams will conclude in two days and my parents have decided to send me to get help.**

With that, I can assure everyone, myself included, that I will be able to continue with this work, at least for a bit. I'm not sure of my ability to update this regularly once I start at the university in february, but I do like what I've done here and I fully intend to finish this, this story is **NOT** discontinued. Which is why I'm also posting this story to my Ao3 account too, as i would prefer not to have some of my works on either accounts, it just complicates things. So why not both? With time to come, I will also continue with my other story, 'we're meant to be!' which is on my AO3 account, and will be uploading that on too.

With my exams being over in two days, I will start writing right after and will try my very best to have the next chapter up by the end of the week. Thank you everyone for putting up with my unreliability in posting, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!


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